Strongsville Schools Moving Forward with Sale of Drake Elementary

STRONGSVILLE, OH - The school board voted on Monday to accept a $200,000 bid for the former Drake Elementary School building. Michael Chambers submitted the bid via public auction and has said he intends to use the space to create an assisted living facility and independent villas.

This decision will save the district $291,000 in demolition costs for the building and will also provide $200,000 from the auction bid, for a total of $491,000, that the district intends to use for capital improvement projects.

Upon the recommendation of the Board Facilities Development Committee, Strongsville’s Board of Education recently approved placing the former Drake Elementary school building and property up for public auction to determine the market value of these district assets, and potential sale to an interested buyer. The board reserved the right to accept or reject the public auction’s top bid based on intended use of the property.

“One of our stated district goals is financial prudence, which guides our decision-making as a
Board. Our fiduciary responsibility was to weigh the facts and consider the reward, as well as the
risk in making this decision for the Drake Elementary property," said Board of Education President Carl Naso in a statement. "This decision was made with much discussion and consideration, including our respect and acknowledgement of the impact this sale has for those in the immediate vicinity and neighborhood of this building and property. We are confident that the buyer’s intended use of the property will benefit our community, and as a District, we are also gaining $491,000 in revenue which will further assist in future improvement projects for our existing facilities."

Photo courtesy of Strongsville Schools